For over 50 years, computers have been stored in 19-inch racks in data centers and server rooms to move their bulk out of the home and office. 19-inch racks, or more simply, “racks,” are frames or enclosures that house and support multiple computers. Most frequently, these computers are servers, providing remote hosting and processing of data for a client that is not local. The servers are frequently dedicated to performing a single or very few operations, and because of this specificity of operation, often have the capability to work at a faster or more efficient pace than a general-purpose computer would be able.
Arranging servers in racks saves space and can help organize equipment, peripherals, and accessories within dedicated data centers. A rack is several feet tall and 19 inches wide. It generally has four upright support members standing vertically at corners of the rack and has an open front and open back. Individual servers are secured within the rack horizontally, such as by coupling ears at the front of the server to the front two support members, or by sliding the servers on rails extending horizontally along the sides of the rack. The open front and back allow air to move through the rack, and also allow technicians to monitor and repair the servers. Servers will frequently have a front display providing status signals or other information which can be seen at the open front, and will generally route power and networking cables out the back through the open back of the rack.
Data centers and server rooms are refrigerated and kept very cool. The hard disk drives in the servers produce heat, and the motherboards and the processors also do to a limited extent. The servers have fans inside the server cases to expel heat from the case as fast as possible. The heat generated is significant, and when hundreds or thousands of servers are kept in a single room, the heat generated is tremendous. Unfortunately, servers operate poorly at heat and can fail much faster and more frequently than when they are kept cool. For this reason, data centers will refrigerate their rooms centrally, providing cooling to all of the servers in all of the racks. The cost of cooling rooms is not insignificant and contributes to the overhead of maintaining a data center. This cost is passed along to the client.
Stacking computer servers vertically also allows data centers to consolidate equipment into a small space, thus saving on land costs. To save more space, some people have developed stackable servers that can fit closely together, almost in interlocking arrangement. Others have developed servers that are positioned vertically, so that many thin servers can be placed alongside each other in a rack. This leads to a dense configuration of computers, however, and with it, difficult cooling problems. When servers are tightly packed, it can become challenging to dissipate heat quickly when there is little room for airflow among the servers. An improved rack server is needed.